COLUMBIA, S.C. — It has been one year since 28 tornadoes ripped through South Carolina. It was the second deadliest tornado outbreak since 1950 and the third deadliest all-time.
Nine people died and 77 were injured due to the April 13, 2020 storms, but if you were not directly impacted, this historic tornado outbreak is somewhat forgotten.
The pandemic and lockdown were in full swing. Most of the headlines in the news involved COVID-19, but this record-setting outbreak is not one to forget.
According to the South Carolina State Climatology Office, a total of 28 tornadoes struck the state that day. This tied the third largest outbreak on record for the state.
The largest tornado outbreak in South Carolina history was September 7, 2004 when 46 tornadoes were spawned by the remnants of Tropical Storm Francis.
Last April’s outbreak produced 12 tornadoes rated EF2 or higher, this is wind speeds of at least 111 mph. There were seven EF3 tornadoes, winds of at least 136 mph. These were new one-day records for the state.
There was also an EF4 tornado in the Lowcountry. The first EF4 in South Carolina since 1995.
Unfortunately, during last year's outbreak, nine people died across the state, two were residents of Orangeburg county.
It was over a decade since the Midlands had experienced a tornado outbreak like this.
In March of 2008, seven tornadoes were confirmed by the National Weather Service office in Columbia, one of which was an EF3 in Newberry County.
The only other tornado outbreak that was more deadly across South Carolina since 1950 was the March 28, 1984 outbreak, when 15 people died.